


The More Things Remain the Same

by Brightbear



Category: Kommissar Rex | Inspector Rex
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-16
Updated: 2011-11-16
Packaged: 2017-10-26 03:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/278433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brightbear/pseuds/Brightbear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hollerer has been around for a while...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The More Things Remain the Same

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Чем меньше перемен](https://archiveofourown.org/works/731975) by [bfcure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bfcure/pseuds/bfcure)



> Spoilers for Season 4's 'Moser's Tod' and 'Dangerous Mission'. Kommissar Rex belongs to Peter Hajek, Peter Moser, Mungo film, Tauris film, SAT.1 and ORF.

"Think positive," Christian tells him, as if Hollerer's the one who hasn't been around for long.  
The truth is that Peter Hollerer has been in the police force a very long time - maybe too long. They may have re-badged the Crime Squad into Homicide but they still investigate the same crimes. His day to day duties haven't changed much in ten years. Other things have changed in that time. Colleagues have come and gone. They have a new office, smaller but more modern. Hollerer has gotten older and Rex has become a permanent fixture in the office. He's now in the habit of calling his colleagues by their first names, something that would have been unthinkable when he started. It just wasn't done, regardless of how close you were out of work hours.

He finds Alex and Christian friendly and enthusiastic. Christian used to be Bock as far as Hollerer was concerned (Hollerer himself is now Peter) but the Bock-after-Alex seems a different creature to the Bock-before-Alex so a change of name isn't too hard to cope with. The exact change is hard to pin down. It could simply be that Christian doesn't seem as young now, as if Richard's death gouged out some of his innocence and naiveté.

Getting to know Alex is like letting a cool breeze into a hot house. It changes everything it touches without really changing anything at all. Hollerer is used to being the least fit - ten years of desk duty and a passion for food has seen to that - but Alex has an annoying tendency to not be self-conscious about it. Sometimes Alex shows off but usually it just doesn't occur to him that he's faster, stronger and fitter than anyone else. It makes Hollerer feel old, sometimes, though he's never felt unwelcome or unappreciated.

Alex and Christian are good friends and colleagues. Hollerer keeps in contact with old friends like Stocki but distance and long working hours are making it harder and harder to keep in touch. He can foresee a time soon when Alex and Christian will be his closest friends. The thought can be as pleasant as it is sad.

Hollerer doesn't miss the old office, with its frequent draughts and flights of stairs. He doesn't miss the bad lighting that probably contributed to the deterioration of his eyesight. He misses Richard, gone so abruptly from their lives, and Stocki, who moved on for the sake of his marriage. Richard and Stocki were frequently unkind, unappreciative and pushy. They never made him feel old, though - just reliable and needed.

So, it's not particularly unexpected when he finds himself out in the field, co-ordinating the uniformed officers while Alex is spear-heading the search for a bomb and Christian is organising an evacuation. It doesn't happen every day but co-ordinating people is nothing out of the ordinary. He is surprised later, when he is behind the wheel of a car with an escaped prisoner in the passenger seat and the very bomb they were looking for ready to blow at any second. Hollerer's glasses slip slightly as he and the escapee eye each other warily but they say nothing. There is little to say, except to ask for and give directions.

Hollerer waits until the escapee is looking away, lost in thought. Planning his next move, perhaps, or just musing on what has brought him to this point. Hollerer accelerates the car, pretending to be overtaking, and then swerves across three lanes of traffic into an empty car park. He is surprised how little of his mind is on the fact that he will probably be blown to pieces and engulfed in flame at any moment. Nothing happens as they continue until the blast-zone contains nobody but Hollerer and his passenger. Hollerer spares him a look.

The escapee is startled, a frown across his broad face as he tries to process and rethink on the fly but he isn't coming up with anything. He doesn't want to die to prove a point. The threat of it is simply a means to an end. It is the last Hollerer sees before he throws himself out of the car. He rolls across the hard bitumen, more acutely aware than ever of his body's weight and shape. He's not designed to roll. His heart is racing and he's uncomfortable and bruised, but he's alive. The driver-less car and the escapee inside plough into a parked car and explode. Hollerer feels the heat of the explosion in the hair on his forearms but he's okay. He's alive.

He stops rolling and rests on the ground, adrenaline fading and pain sharpening and demanding his attention. He'd whoop out loud if he still had the breath.  
"Did you see that, Richard?" he wants to shout. "I did that."  
He still hasn't regained his breath when Alex or Christian reach him, or he'd tell them too. He expects congratulations, awe or gentle teasing about finally seeing some action. Instead, his colleagues are concerned and cautious. They are too worried about his well-being to think about what he's just done.

It annoys him so much that he checks out of hospital that night before they visit, without telling them. The next morning, he sits at his desk in the office and waits. He has lunch for all of them in his drawer, as a demonstration of his priorities. He hears Alex and Christian come up the hallway, talking about him in hushed, worried tones. They are certainly surprised to see him. For once they are even at a loss for words.

"Don't think you know all of this old dog's tricks," Hollerer tells them smugly, as if he might go out and throw himself from another car just to prove it.  
He sees the moment Alex gets his point. There's the minutest of nods and then Hollerer is being teased for his devotion to lunch. That's okay with Hollerer because he knows that even though some things have changed, for better or worse, he still has his job and his friends and Rex. What more could a man ask for, except of course, for a plate of fresh ham rolls?

The End


End file.
